Lost data This drive was near full when the galaxy controller card failed, I disassembled the enclosure and plugged the HD in via IDE to USB cable but the drive was not recognized and seems to be unformatted.

It sounds like the usb port on the drive itself is shot. You can actually take apart the case and pull just the harddrive out and use a hotswap usb harddrive reader and get to your files again

If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/steven_a67ead41eb5fc62a

Hard drives do not like being dropped, this is a sure way to break them.
Fixing hard drives is not a DIY project especially when they have been dropped.
You need to purchase a new one.

Yes, you can. You'll need a little more hardware however. You can find "hard drive enclosures" at many computer stores, ebay and electronics stores. They look like these. In order to make this work, you need to determine the physical size and interface of the Samsung hard drive first. Most notebook drives are 2.5" and most desktop drives are 3.5" types (regardless of capacity). You'll need to find an enclosure for the drive size and interface type.

The Samsung drive is likely to be either and IDE type with a SATA (serial) or PATA (parallel) interface. Pictures of SATA cables are here, and PATA cables are here. You would select the enclosure depending on 2.5" or 3.5" size and SATA or PATA interface type. Lastly, would be to choose either a USB connection between the computer and enclosure, or an ESATA type. ESATA simply means External SATA. If your computer offers an ESATA jack on the front or rear panel, you might consider using it as it is much faster than USB. If you do not have an ESATA jack, stick with the USB type. All but the most oldest computers support USB 2.0 standard speeds, newer computers have a faster USB 3.0 speed (5Gbit/S) standard, but this hardware is fully backward compatible to the USB 2.0 & USB 1 speed (480Mbi/S) and hardware standards. If your computer has the original USB 1.x standrad speeds, you might consider purchasing a USB 2.0 or 3.0 expansion card as the USB 1.x standard is very slow (just 12 Mbit/S). Check these links for pictures of ESATA, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 If you look closely, you can see the slight differences. USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 look identical.

Some enclosures will require / include a power adapter for the drive. Make sure you get what is required to get the drive to spin up properly. After your computer is up and running, connect the external drive to the USB jack and let the computer install drivers as needed; then use it as any other thumb drive etc. ESATA however may be different. In any case, follow the instructions included with the enclosure you purchased.

After copying good data, you might be able to format and scan the Samsung drive and map out the errant portions. Even still, I would not use the drive for important information or day to day uses. If you do, be sure to maintain frequent backups.

Good luck!

And does it make any sort of clicking sound when connected to the computer?
Either the drive itself is faulty, or the enclosure transforming the drive's interface to USB is not working.
You could always try taking the drive out of the enclosure and connecting it directly to your computer's hard drive interface, but be very careful not to damage anything.

There are a couple of issues that are common with all external drives.

1) Check if the drive has been listed in the disk manager. It could have lost the partition table (formating and other data) information (do not attempt to repartition or reformat until additional tests are done if you have data on it) For Windows OS versions, open the Control Panel, choose System and Security (Win7), then Administrative Tools, Computer Managment and the Disk Management under Storage. If it has lost the critical information, use data recovery software to reclaim your data.

2) The cables have come loose inside the enclosure. If it is out of warranty, open the enclosure and check. These connect the board of the enclosure to the drive. (There are both power and data cables if the drive is a 3.5" drive (IDE or SATA), 2.5" IDE drives combine both.)

3) The enclosure's hardware has failed. Remove the drive and try to connect it in another enclosure (match for disc size and type of data connector), a USB/IDE/SATA bare drive connector, a hard drive dock (SATA) or by putting it into a desktop with an available IDE or SATA connection. Make sure to use it as a slave drive for IDE. Can you read the drive? Then the enclosure is bad.

4) If not, then the drive itself has failed. For a do-it-yourself attempt to get the data off the drive, wrap it well in plastic and place in the freezer for a few days. Try one of the steps in 3 to read the drive and, if the computer reads the drive, copy the data to another drive or optical media. Professional data recovery sites can do more if your data is critical.

Please note that if the drive is under warranty, warranty repairs will not include preserving your data. Opening the enclosure to get the data may void the warranty.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Hi,

There are a few reasons this would happen, The options are a bad USB cable, a faulty driver in your PC, a failed circuit board in the enclosure or a failed circuit in the drive itself.

First try the drive on a different PC and see if it works. If it does reply back and we can look into the failed driver. If it doesn't then take it to your local PC shop and have the technicians test it with a new USB cable, if it works buy the new cable. If that also fails to work have the technicians move the hard drive into a new enclosure.

If it works in the new enclosure buy the enclosure and your on the way. If it doesn't, then the hard drive itself is the problem. If that is the case you will need the help of a data recovery pro to retrieve your data. If this is the case reply with your location(Country, State and City) and I will assist you in finding a reputable pro to assist you.

Hope this helps FixYa,

Chris

Hi, generally this is one of two problems. Bad power save settings which can be resolved by a full shutdown and restart, or the drive/enclosure is failed.

Try shutting the computer down, then unplug the HDD from the laptop and power for about 30 seconds, then restart the laptop and when it gets to the desktop plug the drive USB and power back in.

If this works, no worries, you're golden.

If not take the external drive to your local PC shop and have the techs move the HD to a new enclosure to test it. If it works in the new enclosure your enclosure failed, buy the new one and e on your way. If the new enclosure fails to recognize the drive, your HD is failed. If the Hd has failed and you require the files that are on in, reply back with your lacation: Country, State, City and I will refer you to a data recovery team near you, if there's nothing important on the drive buy a new one and rerun your backups then you're good again.

Hope this helps FixYa,

Chris

the drive may have failed..... they can often be "fixed" long enough to retrieve data. i make alot of money from failed maxtor hard drives.

Robert

Hi, As I have responded to a similar post, this is a common problem with external storage. Based on your post/description: 1. Your laptop does not recognize the external hard drive via its USB connection - try on a different computer - if it is still a no go, then it's not a PC problem; 2. Try replacing the cable - again if a no go, so it's not an interface/cable problem; 3. That leaves you only with the WD500GB itself as the possible at fault. An external hardrive would consist of 2 main parts, the electronic board and the hard disk itself. The board seldom (if ever) fails. Its function is to provide conversion/interface from the SATA/IDE connectors of the HD to the out USB/Firewire. The HD more often than not fails. Most external storage uses a standard HD inside the enclosure. Your possible options: a. Claim warranty/replacement; b. Replace the HD only; c. Physically remove the HD and connect it directly inside a desktop either as IDE or SATA and run manufacturer's diagnostic and/or third party recovery software; d. Seek services of professional data recovery firms (if data/files are mission critical); Hope this be of some help/idea. Post back should you need further information. Good luck and kind regards.

Hi, This is a common problem with external storage. Based on your post/description: 1. Your laptop does not recognize the external hard drive via its USB connection - try on a different computer - if it is still a no go, then it's not a PC problem; 2. Try replacing the cable - again if a no go, so it's not an interface/cable problem; 3. That leaves you only with the PS3200 itself as the possible at fault. An external hardrive would consist of 2 main parts, the electronic board and the hard disk itself. The board seldom (if ever) fails. Its function is to provide conversion/interface from the SATA/IDE connectors of the HD to the out USB/Firewire. The HD more often than not fails. Most external storage uses a standard HD inside the enclosure. Your possible options: a. Claim warranty/replacement; b. Replace the HD only; c. Physically remove the HD and connect it directly inside a desktop either as IDE or SATA and run manufacturer's diagnostic and/or third party recovery software; d. Seek services of professional data recovery firms (if data/files are mission critical); Hope this be of some help/idea. Post back should you need further information. Good luck and kind regards.